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Rain Partier

For all the (well-deserved) criticism piled on last summer's Avengers vs. X-Men event, it did manage to make the X-Books the most exciting they've been in years. Between All New X-Men and its sister title Uncanny X-Men, Brian Bendis is building what could be the most complex and entertaining X-Men story since Grant Morrison departed Marvel a decade ago. With ten issues under its belt, All New X-Men continues to be one of the best superhero books on the stands and shows exactly why Bendis has earned his "Great One" moniker.

All New X-Men #10 opens with a savage attack by the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before shifting to a tense confrontation between the present day Cyclops and his former teammates. There's a lot of standing around and talking during the issue, but unlike Bendis's infamous breakfast scenes in New Avengers, readers aren't left begging for something to happen. The tension amongst the X-Men practically leaps off the page, especially between Beast and Cyclops. At one point, a character notes that Cyclops seems as disappointed in the X-Men as they are in him. The art and dialogue really hammer that observation home.

It's amazing how different All New X-Men feels from Bendis's past work. While both this series and New Avengers/Avengers/Mighty Avengers/Dark Avengers featured ensemble casts, drawn out arcs, and plenty of dialogue, something just feels different about his current work. All New X-Men, while decompressed, still has substance to it. His characters maintain that patented level of "Bendis banter" without going overboard or coming off as generic. While there's humor in the book, it doesn't undermine the tension or emotion on display throughout the book. Bendis is using all of his strengths in a surprisingly balanced fashion.

What's more, Bendis's method of slowly and organically building conflict between characters stands out in stark contrast to other attempts made in X-books in the past. Unlike the hackneyed attempts made in Avengers vs. X-Men and X-Men: Schism, the conflict between present-day Cyclops and the other X-Men actually has weight and depth to it. There's no Mary Sues or writer's favorites here: both Cyclops and his former teammates make persuasive but flawed arguments. Better yet, Bendis somehow manages to do this in a way that doesn't bring up accusations of insensitivity to minorities. Who knew that such a thing could be possible?

Of course, all of this is possible because of Stuart Immonen's art. One can't pile enough compliments on how great his art is. Immonen is the perfect compliment to Bendis; I doubt there's another artist that could draw 16 pages of characters in such an engaging and nuanced way.

If someone had told me that I'd be enjoying a Bendis X-Men title dealing with the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men a few months ago, I would have laughed and asked for your drug dealer's number. But ten issues in, All New X-Men trails only Daredevil and Hawkeye in terms of being the best Big Two superhero comic on the stands. If you want to see how to do a serial comic right, pick up All New X-Men today.

Rain Partier

For all the (well-deserved) criticism piled on last summer's Avengers vs. X-Men event, it did manage to make the X-Books the most exciting they've been in years. Between All New X-Men and its sister title Uncanny X-Men, Brian Bendis is building what could be the most complex and entertaining X-Men story since Grant Morrison departed Marvel a decade ago. With ten issues under its belt, All New X-Men continues to be one of the best superhero books on the stands and shows exactly why Bendis has earned his "Great One" moniker.

All New X-Men #10 opens with a savage attack by the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before shifting to a tense confrontation between the present day Cyclops and his former teammates. There's a lot of standing around and talking during the issue, but unlike Bendis's infamous breakfast scenes in New Avengers, readers aren't left begging for something to happen. The tension amongst the X-Men practically leaps off the page, especially between Beast and Cyclops. At one point, a character notes that Cyclops seems as disappointed in the X-Men as they are in him. The art and dialogue really hammer that observation home.

It's amazing how different All New X-Men feels from Bendis's past work. While both this series and New Avengers/Avengers/Mighty Avengers/Dark Avengers featured ensemble casts, drawn out arcs, and plenty of dialogue, something just feels different about his current work. All New X-Men, while decompressed, still has substance to it. His characters maintain that patented level of "Bendis banter" without going overboard or coming off as generic. While there's humor in the book, it doesn't undermine the tension or emotion on display throughout the book. Bendis is using all of his strengths in a surprisingly balanced fashion.

What's more, Bendis's method of slowly and organically building conflict between characters stands out in stark contrast to other attempts made in X-books in the past. Unlike the hackneyed attempts made in Avengers vs. X-Men and X-Men: Schism, the conflict between present-day Cyclops and the other X-Men actually has weight and depth to it. There's no Mary Sues or writer's favorites here: both Cyclops and his former teammates make persuasive but flawed arguments. Better yet, Bendis somehow manages to do this in a way that doesn't bring up accusations of insensitivity to minorities. Who knew that such a thing could be possible?

Of course, all of this is possible because of Stuart Immonen's art. One can't pile enough compliments on how great his art is. Immonen is the perfect compliment to Bendis; I doubt there's another artist that could draw 16 pages of characters in such an engaging and nuanced way.

If someone had told me that I'd be enjoying a Bendis X-Men title dealing with the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men a few months ago, I would have laughed and asked for your drug dealer's number. But ten issues in, All New X-Men trails only Daredevil and Hawkeye in terms of being the best Big Two superhero comic on the stands. If you want to see how to do a serial comic right, pick up All New X-Men today.

Regular-Sized Poster

Grayson wrote:Am I the only person who laughed out loud when they saw Wolverine in this issue? I absolutely loved the way that Marquez drew Logan. This should be the way that Logan is drawn from now on.

Regular-Sized Poster

Grayson wrote:Am I the only person who laughed out loud when they saw Wolverine in this issue? I absolutely loved the way that Marquez drew Logan. This should be the way that Logan is drawn from now on.

Yeah it was strange.

doombug wrote:You really are the george carlin of the outhouse. that's fucking hilarious.

doombug wrote:and yeah, Yoni called it.

I feel like a condemned building with a brand new flag pole.- Les Paul

Staff Writer

Much like Superior Spider-Man, the idea of the original X-Men coming into the present is a silly high concept that has worked really well for me. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about it, but this title has been some of the best X-Men stuff I’ve read since Morrison and early Whedon. This issue was very talky, but it’s Bendis, so it’s good talky. I’m a big fan of the current Cyclops, so I love it when he does anything, but his tackling everyone’s assertion that he killed Xavier was great, he was possessed goddamnit! He’s just such a fascinating character, I can understand why some fans hate him now, but even they have to admit he’s interesting. It’s better that you hate him than don’t care, right? Another interesting factor to this issue is whatever it is the Brotherhood Of Mutants is up to, Mystique says she just wants to make money, so then why pretend to be the X-Men? She must have a bigger plan up her sleeve. So yeah, whilst this issue was mostly dialogue, it was interesting, necessary dialogue which moved the overall story to it’s next phase, with some of Wolverine’s students leaving to join Cyclops’ new school. The Stepford Cuckoos are confirmed, but there’s another, and supposedly it’s shocking. It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down. Luckily we only have to wait for next week’s issue of Uncanny to find out. All-New X-Men continues to be fantastic comic, all 3 of the main X-Men titles are so good at the moment, Bendis is bringing the drama and the comedy to this, and Immonen is bringing some of the best art of his career. This is time-travel done right, this is superhero soap opera done right.

Staff Writer

Much like Superior Spider-Man, the idea of the original X-Men coming into the present is a silly high concept that has worked really well for me. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about it, but this title has been some of the best X-Men stuff I’ve read since Morrison and early Whedon. This issue was very talky, but it’s Bendis, so it’s good talky. I’m a big fan of the current Cyclops, so I love it when he does anything, but his tackling everyone’s assertion that he killed Xavier was great, he was possessed goddamnit! He’s just such a fascinating character, I can understand why some fans hate him now, but even they have to admit he’s interesting. It’s better that you hate him than don’t care, right? Another interesting factor to this issue is whatever it is the Brotherhood Of Mutants is up to, Mystique says she just wants to make money, so then why pretend to be the X-Men? She must have a bigger plan up her sleeve. So yeah, whilst this issue was mostly dialogue, it was interesting, necessary dialogue which moved the overall story to it’s next phase, with some of Wolverine’s students leaving to join Cyclops’ new school. The Stepford Cuckoos are confirmed, but there’s another, and supposedly it’s shocking. It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down. Luckily we only have to wait for next week’s issue of Uncanny to find out. All-New X-Men continues to be fantastic comic, all 3 of the main X-Men titles are so good at the moment, Bendis is bringing the drama and the comedy to this, and Immonen is bringing some of the best art of his career. This is time-travel done right, this is superhero soap opera done right.

Outhouse Drafter

Punchy wrote:It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down.

I don't know, you're probably right but it seems too obvious for it to be Jean. We know that it absolutely won't be young Scott and Bobby seems to closed minded to even consider it. Hank would be a really huge shocker and I would love to see how that would play out but I wouldn't be too surprised if Warren doesn't end up going with older Scott. Warren doesn't even want to be there and it's clear that the rest of the team is content to basically ignore him, hell the only person getting treated worse than Warren in young Scott, so why not go find greener pastures somewhere else?

Outhouse Drafter

Punchy wrote:It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down.

I don't know, you're probably right but it seems too obvious for it to be Jean. We know that it absolutely won't be young Scott and Bobby seems to closed minded to even consider it. Hank would be a really huge shocker and I would love to see how that would play out but I wouldn't be too surprised if Warren doesn't end up going with older Scott. Warren doesn't even want to be there and it's clear that the rest of the team is content to basically ignore him, hell the only person getting treated worse than Warren in young Scott, so why not go find greener pastures somewhere else?

Staff Writer

Grayson wrote:I don't know, you're probably right but it seems too obvious for it to be Jean. We know that it absolutely won't be young Scott and Bobby seems to closed minded to even consider it. Hank would be a really huge shocker and I would love to see how that would play out but I wouldn't be too surprised if Warren doesn't end up going with older Scott. Warren doesn't even want to be there and it's clear that the rest of the team is content to basically ignore him, hell the only person getting treated worse than Warren in young Scott, so why not go find greener pastures somewhere else?

Everyone's seemed to have forgotten about Young Warren, I don't think they'd be that shocked.

If it is him... maybe Jean is mind-controlling him, like she did a few issues back.

Staff Writer

Grayson wrote:I don't know, you're probably right but it seems too obvious for it to be Jean. We know that it absolutely won't be young Scott and Bobby seems to closed minded to even consider it. Hank would be a really huge shocker and I would love to see how that would play out but I wouldn't be too surprised if Warren doesn't end up going with older Scott. Warren doesn't even want to be there and it's clear that the rest of the team is content to basically ignore him, hell the only person getting treated worse than Warren in young Scott, so why not go find greener pastures somewhere else?

Everyone's seemed to have forgotten about Young Warren, I don't think they'd be that shocked.

If it is him... maybe Jean is mind-controlling him, like she did a few issues back.

P&#1062;&#1048;K&#1063; &#1042;&#1071;&#1025;&#106

Punchy wrote:Much like Superior Spider-Man, the idea of the original X-Men coming into the present is a silly high concept that has worked really well for me. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about it, but this title has been some of the best X-Men stuff I’ve read since Morrison and early Whedon. This issue was very talky, but it’s Bendis, so it’s good talky. I’m a big fan of the current Cyclops, so I love it when he does anything, but his tackling everyone’s assertion that he killed Xavier was great, he was possessed goddamnit! He’s just such a fascinating character, I can understand why some fans hate him now, but even they have to admit he’s interesting. It’s better that you hate him than don’t care, right? Another interesting factor to this issue is whatever it is the Brotherhood Of Mutants is up to, Mystique says she just wants to make money, so then why pretend to be the X-Men? She must have a bigger plan up her sleeve. So yeah, whilst this issue was mostly dialogue, it was interesting, necessary dialogue which moved the overall story to it’s next phase, with some of Wolverine’s students leaving to join Cyclops’ new school. The Stepford Cuckoos are confirmed, but there’s another, and supposedly it’s shocking. It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down. Luckily we only have to wait for next week’s issue of Uncanny to find out. All-New X-Men continues to be fantastic comic, all 3 of the main X-Men titles are so good at the moment, Bendis is bringing the drama and the comedy to this, and Immonen is bringing some of the best art of his career. This is time-travel done right, this is superhero soap opera done right.

P&#1062;&#1048;K&#1063; &#1042;&#1071;&#1025;&#106

Punchy wrote:Much like Superior Spider-Man, the idea of the original X-Men coming into the present is a silly high concept that has worked really well for me. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about it, but this title has been some of the best X-Men stuff I’ve read since Morrison and early Whedon. This issue was very talky, but it’s Bendis, so it’s good talky. I’m a big fan of the current Cyclops, so I love it when he does anything, but his tackling everyone’s assertion that he killed Xavier was great, he was possessed goddamnit! He’s just such a fascinating character, I can understand why some fans hate him now, but even they have to admit he’s interesting. It’s better that you hate him than don’t care, right? Another interesting factor to this issue is whatever it is the Brotherhood Of Mutants is up to, Mystique says she just wants to make money, so then why pretend to be the X-Men? She must have a bigger plan up her sleeve. So yeah, whilst this issue was mostly dialogue, it was interesting, necessary dialogue which moved the overall story to it’s next phase, with some of Wolverine’s students leaving to join Cyclops’ new school. The Stepford Cuckoos are confirmed, but there’s another, and supposedly it’s shocking. It’s obviously Jean Grey, right? She’s going to go undercover and use Cyclops’ love for her to bring him down. Luckily we only have to wait for next week’s issue of Uncanny to find out. All-New X-Men continues to be fantastic comic, all 3 of the main X-Men titles are so good at the moment, Bendis is bringing the drama and the comedy to this, and Immonen is bringing some of the best art of his career. This is time-travel done right, this is superhero soap opera done right.